Shaquille O'neal recently revealed that he spent a whole lot of dough in one night during his playing years.
In an interview with Bryant Gumbel for HBO's Real Sports, Shaq shared the details of that night:
“I spent about 70,000 at Walmart in one night. I spent so much, American Express thought my credit card was stolen. True story.”
“I get traded from Miami, and I go to Phoenix. And I'm very impatient so they already got the apartment set up, and I ain't go nothing. I ain't got no towels. I ain't got no pots and pans. I ain't got no TV.”
Below is the full clip:
To clarify, Gumbel asked: You went to Walmart to furnish your house? Shaq replied:
“Yes. Pants, socks, underwears, tank tops, TVs, printers, computers”
$70,000 is a whole lot of money for most. For some, it's what they make for a year. Others, for several years. But for Shaq, who made over $280 million during his NBA years, $70,000 is just pocket change.
Even after the NBA, Shaq has made a lot of money through endorsement deals, investments, among others. It's mainly due to his overloading charisma, on top of his marketing antics. Shaq is a brand in itself. In the interview, he shared that this marketing professor back in the day gave him a failing mark for wanting to turn himself into a brand:
“My marketing professor said, ‘Okay, class, bring me something that you could see being sold in the foreseeable future.’ So, you know me. I came in with the Shaq shoes, Shaq socks, Shaq shirt, Shaq everything. And the guy gave me a F.